Fallacious — A Vocabulary Story
The Missing Hibiscus Trophy
At the gardening club in Kuala Lumpur, Nushi was thrilled. Her hibiscus had won first prize, and the silver trophy gleamed on the wooden shelf. By Tuesday morning, however, it had vanished.
Whispers spread quickly. Kai, who tended the orchids, pointed at Eduardo, the new boy from Manila. "He was here last," Kai said. "It must be him."
Nushi frowned. "That's a fallacious accusation. Being last doesn't make him a thief."
Fallacious means based on a mistaken belief. It also means logically flawed.
Mariam, the club secretary, opened her notebook. "Let's not jump to fallacious conclusions. We need evidence, not gossip."
Kai huffed. "I just think it's suspicious that he was the last person here."
"That's the most fallacious thing I've heard all week," Eduardo replied calmly. "Where I came from has nothing to do with where the trophy went."
They searched the greenhouse. Behind a sack of compost, Nushi spotted something glinting. The trophy lay tipped over, slightly muddy, beside a chewed gardening glove. Pawprints trailed across the tiles.
"Bobo!" Mariam laughed, calling the club's mischievous terrier. "So the theory of a human thief was entirely fallacious."
Kai's cheeks burned. "Sorry, Eduardo. My reasoning was fallacious from the start."
Eduardo shrugged and offered a handshake. "Apology accepted. Help me polish it?"
They wiped the trophy together while Bobo wagged his tail, utterly unbothered by the fallacious rumours he'd inspired across the busy little greenhouse.
Word Definition
fallacious
meaning
based on a mistaken belief; logically flawed
synonyms
misleading · deceptive · false · unreasonable · irrational
antonyms
correct · true · logical
example sentence
His argument was fallacious, relying on incorrect data.